The West Australian capital, currently the fourth-richest city in Australia, is expected to rank just below Melbourne by 2014 thanks to a giant new wave of wealth being generated by the region's booming resources industry.

That presents an attractive opportunity for private bankers, money managers and luxury brands, but also for others who want to cash in on the commodities hidden not too far from the city's sun-soaked coastline.

Forget joblessness. The unemployment rate is just 4.3% — a full percentage point below the national average.

West Australians are also the best paid in the country. Miners working in remote areas surrounding Perth earn an average $160,000 per year — many fly to and from work for weeks at a time. The Wall Street Journal recently found a 25-year-old high school drop-out who earns $200,000 running drills underground.

With temperatures that routinely soar into the 100s during the city's long summers, Perth has one of the highest rates of skin cancer in the world.

Locals are mad about sport, and spend summer days watching seemingly never-ending cricket matches. In the winter the focus shifts to Australian rules football and soccer (the local team, Perth Glory, is owned by resources personality Tony Sage).

It can be tough to become a Perthite. US citizens usually need to be sponsored by an employer in order to live and work in Australia, or obtain certification to fill gaps in industries suffering skills shortages (including mining and engineering). Under-30s can get a taste of life there with a cheap one-year work visa.